The present invention relates to a discharge system for printed media sheets, including: a tray having a surface for supporting the media sheets; and rotating transport elements forming a discharge nip for discharging the sheets onto the tray.
In printers and copiers, printed media sheets are frequently collected on one or more trays. The media sheets may be supplied, for example, from a stack of cut sheets, or may be continuously supplied from a reel and then cut into sheets. When the media sheets are supplied from a reel, they are often slightly curled. This effect becomes even more pronounced when the end of the reel is reached and the radius of curvature of the reel becomes smaller. Also, for example, when the media sheets are supplied from a stack of cut sheets, they may become curled during the printing process.
When the printed media sheets are collected on the tray, curled edges of deposited sheets may prevent subsequent sheets from being properly stacked and collected on the tray. For example, when a sheet on the tray is curled upwards at its leading and trailing edges, the space on the tray is used inefficiently, leading to a reduced capacity of the tray. Moreover, curled edges of previously collected sheets might block the discharge nip.